Objectives: to make it more difficult to launder money or collect undeclared payments, and to detect all suspicious transactions.
The end of bank secrecy? It’s today. Since this Monday, January 31 in Belgium, the banks have had to communicate to the tax authorities the sums placed in all your accounts (savings, sight and securities). Insurance companies and stock exchange companies are also concerned, which means that from now on, the administration also has access to the balance of your life insurance and other stock market products in which you may have invested.
At a glance at the electronic database that contains this information, the tax authorities now have access to the amount owned by any natural person or company.
The goal: Detect suspicious transactions
An automatic system of data checks goes hand in hand. Objectives: to make it more difficult to launder money or collect undeclared payments, and to detect all suspicious transactions.
It should be noted that the idea of this database is not new, because for the past ten years banks have already been able to provide information on the existence of accounts and certain cash transactions without disclosing the balance of these accounts.
In case of suspicion of tax evasion or other type of fraud, the administration could request additional information. However, with the present amendment to the law, the tax authorities have direct access to this information, without having to go through the banks, which were sometimes uncooperative.